Abstract
How is God present and active in this time and place? This question has been a pressing one for preachers and congregations amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. In the USA, the urgency of this theological question intensified when nationwide protests erupted following the release, on 26 May, of the video of the death of George Floyd. Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died pleading for breath, his neck pinned to the pavement by a police officer’s knee. Sermons preached in the USA in congregations of distinctive predominant racial identity on the two Sundays following Floyd’s death (31 May and 7 June 2020) are assessed hermeneutically, asking: “In what ways did US sermons, preached on 31 May and 7 June 2020, interpret divine presence and activity in relation to the preacher’s interpretation of listeners’ needs and responsibilities; biblical text(s) referenced, and/or the dual public crisis impinging on national life?”
Highlights
At specific historical moments, a unique combination of events and conditions reshapes the concerns and behaviour of an entire society
Economic constraints required to curb its spread, disrupted everyday life in the spring of 2020 to a degree not seen in the USA since the Second World War
Sermons preached in the USA on 31 May and 7 June 2020 inevitably resonated against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the national crisis over deeply embedded racist bias in law-enforcement practices triggered by Floyd’s death
Summary
A unique combination of events and conditions reshapes the concerns and behaviour of an entire society. For Christian congregations, such moments intensify questions about God’s presence and activity in their particular time and place (Kamar 2020). The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA, coupled with the extreme social and. On Tuesday 26 May, a seventeen-year-old’s video of the death in police custody of an unarmed Black man went “viral” on social media. Massive protests filled USA city streets from coast to coast, from north to south. Some led to violent confrontations between protestors and armed police, who used tear gas, smoke bombs, and rubber bullets to control protesters and opportunistic looters. As Christians confronted Floyd’s tragic death and the massive social unrest it ignited, questions about God’s presence and activity in their time and place intensified
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
